'Substandard quality': Nepal authorities issue recall of 6 Patanjali products

Nepal's department of drug administration said specimens of six Patanjali products failed tests The products include Divya Gashar Churna, Bahuchi Churna, Amla Churna and Aswangandha All the products were made by Divya Pharmacy in Uttarakhand and were found to be "substandard" Patanjali products are quite popular in Nepal and are used in millions of households

A Nepal health ministry body has asked Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurveda to recall six of its medical products from the country immediately, after they were found to be of “substandard quality”.

In a public notice, Nepal's department of drug administration said specimens of six Patanjali products, all made by Divya Pharmacy in Uttarakhand, failed microbial tests and were found to be substandard during inspections.

The six medicinal products include Patanjali’s Divya Gashar Churna, Bahuchi Churna, Amla Churna, Triphala Churna, Adviya Churna and Aswangandha, according to a Hindustan Times report.

The department also informed the stakeholders in the country not to sell or prescribe the use of these six medical products with immediate effect. In addition to the Patanjali products, another India-made drug Bactoclav - manufactured by Bengaluru-based Micro Lab Ltd - also failed tests, and received the same order.

The Hindustan Times report claims there was no response from the Patanjali Ayurveda Kendra in Kathmandu, the distributor of the products in Nepal. 

Patanjali products are quite popular in Nepal and are used in millions of households. During his visit to Himalayan country late last year, Ramdev had stated that he was planning to invest billions of rupees in Nepal for producing ayurvedic products that would eventually generate employment for 20,000 youths.

A recent RRTI reply in India had revealed that around 40 per cent of so-called ayurvedic products sold in India, including Patanjali's Divya Amla Juice and Shivlingi Beej, were found to be of substandard quality.